Sunday, 6 April 2014

LESSON FOR AFRICANS FROM RWANDA

Hutu Gregoire Kayibanda (c) - seen here with Belgian and Rwandan officials - was independent Rwanda's first President

The UN, Belgium and France all had forces in Rwanda. But the UN force was not given a mandate to stop the killing. The Belgians pulled out after 10 of their soldiers were killed. The French, who were allies of the Hutu government, did set up a supposedly safe zone but were accused of not doing enough to stop the slaughter in that area. A year after US troops were killed in Somalia, the US was determined not to get involved in another African conflict.

Why did the Hutu militias want to kill the Tutsis?

On the night of 6 April 1994 a plane carrying then President Juvenal Habyarimana, and his counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi - both Hutus - was shot down. Hutu extremists blamed the RPF and immediately started a well-organised campaign of slaughter. The RPF said the plane had been shot down by Hutus to provide an excuse for the genocide.

The picture above was President Juvenal Habyarimana Government.

In just 100 days in 1994, some 800,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda by ethnic Hutu extremists. They were targeting members of the minority Tutsi community, as well as their political opponents, irrespective of their ethnic origin.

Rwanda has always been a tightly controlled society, organised like a pyramid from each district up to the top of government. The then governing party, MRND, had a youth wing called the Interahamwe, which was turned into a militia to carry out the slaughter. Weapons and hit-lists were handed out to local groups, who knew exactly where to find their targets.

About 85% of Rwandans are Hutus but the Tutsi minority has long dominated the country. In 1959, the Hutus overthrew the Tutsi monarchy and tens of thousands of Tutsis fled to neighbouring countries, including Uganda. A group of Tutsi exiles formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which invaded Rwanda in 1990 and fighting continued until a 1993 peace deal was agreed.

1959: Thousands of Tutsis killed following a Hutu revolt

1963: Between 10,000 and 20,000 Tutsis killed after an incursion by pro-monarchist Tutsi rebels based in Burundi

1991: Hundreds of Bagogwe - a Tutsi subgroup - killed over several months in the north-west following an invasion by Tutsi rebels based in Uganda

1994: 800,000 mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed in 100 days

1995: Rwanda's new armed forces attack Kibeho camp housing Hutu refugees - some 5,000 people killed and more than 20,000 others died after fleeing the camp

With meticulous organisation. Lists of government opponents were handed out to militias who went and killed them, along with all of their families. Neighbours killed neighbours and some husbands even killed their Tutsi wives, saying they would be killed if they refused. At the time, ID cards had people's ethnic group on them, so militias set up roadblocks where Tutsis were slaughtered, often with machetes which most Rwandans kept around the house. Thousands of Tutsi women were taken away and kept as sex slaves.he Hutu extremists set up radio stations and newspapers which broadcast hate propaganda, urging people to "weed out the cockroaches" meaning kill the Tutsis. The names of those to be killed were read out on radio. Even priests and nuns have been convicted of killing people, including some who sought shelter in churches.The Uganda-backed RPF took the capital in July, ending the killing of Tutsis

How did it end?

The well-organised RPF, backed by Uganda's army, gradually seized more territory, until 4 July, when its forces marched into the capital, Kigali. Some two million Hutus - both civilians and some of those involved in the genocide - then fled across the border into DR Congo, at that time called Zaire, fearing revenge attacks.The genocide in Rwanda has directly led to two decades of unrest in DR Congo, which have cost the lives of an estimated five million people. Rwanda's government, now run by the RPF, has twice invaded DR Congo, accusing its much larger neighbour of letting the Hutu militias operate on its territory. Rwanda has also armed local Congolese Tutsi forces. In response, some locals have formed self-defence groups and the civilians of eastern DR Congo have paid the price.

hat is Rwanda like now?

RPF leader and President, Paul Kagame, has been hailed for overseeing rapid economic growth in the tiny country. He has also tried to turn Rwanda into a technological hub and is very active on Twitter. But his critics say he does not tolerate dissent and several opponents have met unexplained deaths. Almost two million people were tried in local courts for their role in the genocide and the ring-leaders at a UN tribunal in neighbouring Tanzania. It is now illegal to talk about ethnicity in Rwanda - the government says this is to prevent more bloodshed but some say it prevents true reconciliation and is just putting a lid on tensions, which will only boil over again in the future.

1300s - Tutsis migrate into what is now Rwanda, which was already inhabited by the Twa and Hutu peoples.

1993 - President Habyarimana signs a power-sharing agreement with the Tutsis in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, ostensibly signalling the end of civil war; UN mission sent to monitor the peace agreement.

1994 April - Habyarimana and the Burundian president are killed after their plane is shot down over Kigali; RPF launches a major offensive; extremist Hutu militia and elements of the Rwandan military begin the systematic massacre of Tutsis. Within 100 days around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are killed; Hutu militias flee to Zaire, taking with them around 2 million Hutu refugees.

1995 - UN-appointed international tribunal begins charging and sentencing a number of people responsible for the Hutu-Tutsi atrocities.

Intervention in DR Congo

1996 - Rwandan troops invade and attack Hutu militia-dominated camps in Zaire in order to drive home the refugees.

1997 - Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels depose President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire; Laurent Kabila becomes president of Zaire, which is renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.

1998 - Rwanda switches allegiance to support rebel forces trying to depose Kabila in the wake of the Congolese president's failure to expel extremist Hutu militias.

2000 March - Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, resigns over differences regarding the composition of a new cabinet and after accusing parliament of targeting Hutu politicians in anti-corruption investigations.

2003 December - Three former media directors found guilty of inciting Hutus to kill Tutsis during 1994 genocide and receive lengthy jail sentences.

2004 March - President Kagame rejects French report which says he ordered 1994 attack on president's plane, which sparked genocide.

2004 June - Former president, Pasteur Bizimungu, is sentenced to 15 years in jail for embezzlement, inciting violence and associating with criminals.

2005 March - Main Hutu rebel group, FDLR, says it is ending its armed struggle. FDLR is one of several groups accused of creating instability in DR Congo; many of its members are accused of taking part in 1994 genocide.

Mass prisoner release

2005 July - Government begins the mass release of 36,000 prisoners. Most of them have confessed to involvement in the 1994 genocide. It is the third phase of releases since 2003 - part of an attempt to ease overcrowding.

2006 January - Rwanda's 12 provinces are replaced by a smaller number of regions with the aim of creating ethnically-diverse administrative areas.

2006 November - Rwanda breaks off diplomatic ties with France after a French judge issues an international arrest warrant for President Kagame, alleging he was involved in bringing down Habyarimana's plane.

2006 December - Father Athanase Seromba becomes the first Roman Catholic priest to be convicted for involvement in the 1994 genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal sentences him to life in prison.

2007 February - Some 8,000 prisoners accused of genocide are released. Some 60,000 suspects have been freed since 2003 to ease prison overcrowding.

2007 April - Former president, Pasteur Bizimungu, is released from jail three years into his 15-year sentence after receiving a presidential pardon.

2007 November - Rwanda signs peace agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the deal DRC will hand over those suspected of involvement in the 1994 genocide to Kigali and to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Arrests abroad

2008 January - French police arrest former Rwandan army officer Marcel Bivugabagabo who is on list of war criminals wanted for trial by the Rwandan government.

2008 February - A Spanish judge issues arrest warrants for 40 Rwandan army officers, accusing them of genocide, terrorism and crimes against humanity.

2008 April - President Paul Kagame says the Spanish judge who issued arrest warrants for Rwandan army officers can "go to hell".

2008 May - A former cabinet minister, Callixte Kalimanzira, goes on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, charged with taking part in the 1994 genocide.

2008 August - Rwanda accuses France of having played an active role in the genocide of 1994, and issues a report naming more than 30 senior French officials. France says the claims are unacceptable.

2008 September - Former deputy prosecutor Simeon Nshamihigo is sentenced to life imprisonment for role in genocide by the UN tribunal. He was working as a defence investigator at the tribunal under an assumed name when arrested in 2001.

2008 October - Rwanda decides all education will be taught in English instead of French, officially as a result of joining the English-speaking East African Community.

2008 November - Rwanda expels German ambassador and recalls own ambassador in row over detention in Germany of presidential aide Rose Kabuye in connection with the shooting down of President Habyarimana's plane.

Genocide trials

2008 December - One of Rwanda's most famous singers, Simon Bikindi, is sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting violence during the genocide.

Theoneste Bagosora sentenced to life imprisonment at UN tribunal for masterminding genocide.

2009 January - Former Justice Minister Agnes Ntamabyariro is jailed for life by a Kigali court for conspiracy to plan the genocide and speeches inciting people to take part.

2009 February - Rwandan troops leave the Democratic Republic of Congo five weeks after entering to attack Hutu rebels.

UN war crimes court finds former army chaplain Emmanuel Rukundo guilty of genocide, sexual assault and kidnapping during genocide, sentences him to 25 years in jail.

2009 March - Rwandan MP and member of Tutsi-led governing party Beatrice Nirere found guilty of genocide and sentenced to life imprisonment in Rwandan gacaca traditional community court.

Dutch court finds Rwandan Hutu Joseph Mpambara guilty of torture during the genocide but not of war crimes.

2009 November - Rwanda is admitted to the Commonwealth, as only the second country after Mozambique to become a member without a British colonial past or constitutional ties to the UK.

France and Rwanda restore diplomatic relations, three years after they were severed over a row about responsibility for the 1990s genocide.

2009 December - Rwanda declared free of landmines - the first country to achieve this status.

2010 February - French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits to mark reconciliation after years of accusations over the genocide. Rwanda said France armed Hutu extremists, and a French judge accused President Kagame of involvement in the death of President Habyarimana.

2010 April - Opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who planned to run against President Kagame in the August elections, is arrested. Her lawyer is later detained.

Two senior officers are arrested within days of a reshuffle of the military leadership.

2010 June - Ex-army chief of staff Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former ally turned critic of President Kagame, is wounded in a shooting while in exile in South Africa.

Kagame re-elected

2010 August - President Kagame wins new term in elections.

2010 October - UN report into 1993-2003 conflict in DR Congo says Rwandan forces took part in attacks on Hutu civilians which - if proven in court - could amount to genocide.

2010 December - Exiled military officers General Kayumba Nyamwasa and Colonel Patrick Karegeya form new political party - Rwanda National Congress.

Members of the pygmy community - known as the Batwa - say authorities have destroyed hundreds of their homes as a part of a purge of traditional thatched houses.

2011 February - Opposition leader Bernard Ntaganda, accused of stoking ethnic tensions, is sentenced to four years in jail. Rights groups criticise the ruling.

2011 June - Former family minister Pauline Nyiramasuhuko becomes first woman to be found guilty of genocide by an international court.

2011 September - Former presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire goes on trial accused of genocide denial and working with a terrorist group.

2011 December - International Criminal Court (ICC) frees Hutu rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana after ruling there is insufficient evidence to back up charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is the first suspect brought to the court to be freed.

2012 June - Rwanda shuts down "gacaca" community courts that for 10 years tried those accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide. Human rights group say they fell short of international legal standards. Rwanda says about 65% of the nearly two million people tried were found guilty.

2012 July - The US, Britain and the Netherlands halt aid to Rwanda over UN accusations that it is fuelling a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo by training rebel troops. Rwanda denies the charge.

2012 October - A Rwandan court sentences opposition leader Victoire Ingabire to eight years in jail on charges of threatening state security and "belittling" the 1994 genocide.

2012 December - The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) convicts former government minister and key organiser of the 1994 genocide Augustin Ngirabatware to 35 years in prison.

2013 February - The ICTR overturns the 2011 genocide convictions of former ministers Justin Mugenzi and Prosper Mugiraneza, to the dismay of Rwandan prosecutors.

2013 August - Tension with DR Congo escalates, with Rwanda complaining of rocket attacks on its territory.

2013 September - French court frees former army deputy chief-of-staff Laurent Serubuga, turning down an extradition request on the grounds that genocide and crimes against humanity were not punishable by law in Rwanda in 1994.